On the morning of February 22, 1946, Leningrad.

Under the warm winter sun, with a forehead wound that has not completely subsided, Swalé. Ji Ya. Matsov stood in front of the gates of the Cheka barracks. This Soviet combat hero, a major army general, suffered a gunshot wound to both shoulders during the Great Patriotic War, and was permanently wounded due to the lack of timely treatment, and to this day, his arms cannot move like a normal person, and he is not even able to pick up his little daughter, but despite leaving the front-line combat unit and transferring to the logistics department, he is still so diligent and hardworking, and has a good reputation among his colleagues, and is regarded by many young generations as a role model to learn. Few people know that he has had two times - plus the unfortunate experience of being captured by the enemy three times last night, and the mental damage is even worse**!

Tangled, hesitant, hesitant, even the guards at the gate cast curious glances at him. At last, he took the same firm and powerful step as usual, and when the guards saluted him, he raised his right arm with great difficulty and insisted on returning the standard military salute.

Stepping into the barracks, Matsov, neatly dressed but with slightly messy hair, walked straight to the building where his office was located, the General Logistics Department of the Leningrad Military District, where the supreme commander was General Lotnikov, a sixty-year-old veteran who had made great achievements during the war, who was rude, straightforward and stern, and was notoriously loud, even when speaking to marshals and even great leaders.

Entering the office building, Matsov did not go to his office to put down his briefcase as usual, he walked to General Lotnikov's office with an extremely serious expression, and the lieutenant of the service saw that he had a wound on his head, and this strange appearance was again, so he asked kindly, but he glared at him extremely coldly: "Is the general inside?" ”

The general's adjutant of service was stunned for a moment: "In ......"

"Who's talking outside?" There was a displeased voice from the door, and everyone knew that General Lotnikov had a certain habit, and every morning he would go to the suburbs every morning, rain or shine, and he would not listen to any reports when he arrived at the office, but would simply pick up the information and newspapers printed inside to browse the recent world events, and at this time he did not like to be disturbed by others, so unless there was something particularly important, the junior officers would avoid this time period - more than half a year after the end of the war, even the Finns had bent their knees and compromised, What else can the logistics department of the Leningrad Military District be able to do urgently?

Matsov's heart was crossed, and he replied loudly: "Comrade General, it's me, Matsov, who have 100,000 urgent things to report to you. ”

The tone of the person inside was still the same cold board: "Come in!" ”

Matsov glanced at the general's lieutenant of order, straightened his collar, and pushed the door in.

Without waiting for Matsov to stand still at his desk, General Lotnikov said, "What's the matter with you?" Sneak attacked? ”

Matsov did not answer, but said eagerly: "Something is wrong, Comrade General!" ”

"It's really bad, last night was very bad!" General Lotnikov replied.

Matsov involuntarily frowned: "You...... You know all about it? ”

General Lotnikov snorted coldly: "I already knew this kind of news!" Damn American imperialism, since the defeat of the Germans, their evil surnames have been revealed again! High-speed centrifuges? Joke! How could we attack a neighbor with a staunchly neutral attitude for the sake of two insignificant machines? We would never do such a stupid thing to set ourselves on fire! ”

"You're not talking about ......" Matsov seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but his brow was still furrowed.

"What? Didn't you come to tell me about last night's bombing of the Nobel Lab in Stockholm? General Lotnikov looked in amazement at this subordinate, who was usually unsmiling, but rarely so serious.

Matsov did not answer the question: "Did the Nobel laboratory in the Swedish capital really be attacked last night?" ”

"yes!" General Lotnikov pushed the newspapers and periodicals in front of him, which were clearly written in black and white, and they were just a picture of the scene.

"Oh God......" Matsov grinned back, "Comrade General, we are already sitting on the crater!" ”

The white-haired veteran was confused: "What do you mean?" ”

Matsov shook his head: "I'll make a long story short! The Americans have already delivered an atomic bomb to Leningrad, and when Comrade Stalin and the military and political dignitaries arrive and attend tomorrow's Red Army Day parade, they will detonate the atomic bomb, and the whole city, along with our great leader, the valiant and wise marshal, and many comrades in high positions, plus the diplomats who have been invited, and, of course, us, will become the dust of history! ”

General Lotnikov was stunned with surprise.

"These messages were from a German spy working for the United States, with whom I had met on the battlefield and who was once an SS officer on a special combat mission, who had been lurking in the Soviet Union since the end of the war. He was willing to help us, but on ...... conditions"

Before Matsov's explanation was finished, General Lotnikov interrupted him: "Wait, Comrade Matsov, you just said that this is the news that the German spies gave you?" ”

"Yes, Comrade General, this sounds strange and suspicious, but the reason why these German spies have been lurking in our country for a long time after being bought by the United States is to instigate some extremely evil actions on the part of the United States, and they are able to tell the exact weight of the atomic bomb that has been brought in this time, and they have also said that the American side will use the Nobel laboratory in Sweden to frame us -- and when the atomic bomb explodes in Leningrad, they will induce public opinion, Let the whole world think that we built an atomic bomb factory in Leningrad and caused the explosion because of a technical malfunction. ”

Stimulated by anxiety, Matsov spoke much faster than usual, so much so that General Lotnikov listened intently. When Matsov had finished, he closed his eyes and pressed his temples with his hands, and with a pained expression on his face to sort out the idea of his words. After a while, he reopened his eyes and stared straight at Matsov: "If this is the case, we must immediately report this to the Central Committee, let Comrade Stalin and the comrades of the Supreme Presidium of the Soviet Union and the People's Commissariat of Defense evacuate, and then organize a great retreat of the military and civilians of the whole city, ah...... Also, where is the atomic bomb located? ”

Matsov shook his head: "Only if the conditions are met, the Germans will tell us where the atomic bomb is, and they will also disarm the detonator of the atomic bomb and give it to us safely." ”

"What?" General Lotnikov, who was carrying three gold stars on his shoulder, was shocked to hear that the atomic bomb might fall into his hands intact, and he looked at Matsov in disbelief, and for a moment remembered to ask: "What conditions do they have?" ”

Matsov quickly replied: "Give them a large sum of money, release dozens of relatives who are being held in prisoner of war camps, and cancel their arrest." ”

"If the atomic bomb is real, it is true...... General Lotnikov said very urgently, "we can accede to their request, absolutely can!" ”

"But they asked for a personal promise from Comrade Stalin, not to meet, but only by telephone, but to make sure that the person who promised them was our Comrade Stalin." ”

General Lotnikov frowned at last, knowing very well that once the matter was sent to the Chairman of the Supreme Presidium of the Soviets, the Supreme Leader of the Union State, whether it was a truth or a lie, they would not be able to disguise or deal with it flexibly.

After a long hesitation, the general asked: "Comrade Matsov, do you think this matter is reliable?" That German spy ......"

"Comrade General, I can only say that the probable surname of this matter is half to half." Matsov replied with great confusion.

"Half against half...... Half-to-half......" General Lotnikov left his desk with his hands behind his back, and forced a frown as he paced back and forth in the office.

At this juncture, Matsov said again: "Comrade General, although it is very humiliating for this to happen, the fact is that the German spies rushed to my house last night at the risk of being shot at any moment, and the wound on my head was due to them. Because they had shot my comrades, and I hated them to such an extent that they would not allow them to live, they bound me up and said this to me. ”

General Lotnikov stopped and looked at the wound on Matsov's forehead, wrestling in snowy weather was commonplace, but if you look closely at this wound, it really doesn't look like an ordinary bump.

"You mean...... They rushed to your house at night, in our military zone, subdued you, but instead of killing you and your family, they negotiated terms with you? ”

"Yes, Comrade General." Matsov said with a brave puff out of his chest.

General Lotnikov looked at his watch, and then asked: "Do they know that Comrade Stalin is already in Leningrad?" ”

"I don't think they know," replied Matsov, "and I can't tell them about it." ”

Lotnikov nodded: "From the perspective of the overall situation, now I can only take the risk of misreporting the military situation and report this matter to the Central Committee, hoping that it will be too late to evacuate Comrade Stalin and related personnel from Leningrad, as for the German spies...... I don't care how you contact them, try to stabilize them, I'm not sure if Comrade Stalin is willing to negotiate terms with these devils and scumbags, but the atomic bomb is very precious to us, and we must find a way to get it! ”

Matsov sighed: "They took my family and asked for my office phone, and I had to stay there after 10 o'clock and wait for them to contact me." ”

General Lotnikov said that he would not care about it, and he said in a deaf ear: "I can't retire directly, Comrade Matsov, you are still young, and there is still a long road ahead!" Pray! ”

(To be continued)